The mission of this blog is to share common experiences among mothers in the quest for fitness and raising healthy families.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Aluminum in deoderant?

I have a friend that is going through Breast Cancer. We were talking about how she was doing the other day. She mentioned some things that her Doctor told her may be contributing factors to Breast Cancer. She said that one thing Doctors' are looking at now is deoderants possibly being one cause of Breast Cancer.

Deoderants causing Breast Cancer? I had NEVER heard about this before. I did a little online research on this and here is what I found out. Let me preface the info I am about to share with you, I am not a Doctor. I am just a regular person that is concerned about healthful living. If you have any further questions or concerns about this topic, please consult your healthcare provider.

According to cancer.gov, alot of articles and stories have been written about this phenomenon on the Internet. The consensus is that deoderants and antipersperants contain bad substances. It kind of makes sense if you think about it because anything that you put under your arm to stop you from sweating can't be natural. People are fearful that these are absorbed through the skin and can lead to Breast Cancer as they are applied by the breast.

Here is the lowdown on what scientists know about this topic from the article on cancer.gov:
"Aluminum-based compounds are used as the active ingredient in antiperspirants. These compounds form a temporary plug within the sweat duct that stops the flow of sweat to the skin's surface. Some research suggests that aluminum-based compounds, which are applied frequently and left on the skin near the breast, may be absorbed by the skin and cause estrogen-like (hormonal) effects (3). Because estrogen has the ability to promote the growth of breast cancer cells, some scientists have suggested that the aluminum-based compounds in antiperspirants may contribute to the development of breast cancer (3).
Some research has focused on parabens, which are preservatives used in some deodorants and antiperspirants that have been shown to mimic the activity of estrogen in the body’s cells (4). Although parabens are used in many cosmetic, food, and pharmaceutical products, according to the FDA, most major brands of deodorants and antiperspirants in the United States do not currently contain parabens. Consumers can look at the ingredient label to determine if a deodorant or antiperspirant contains parabens. Parabens are usually easy to identify by name, such as methylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben, or benzylparaben. The National Library of Medicine’s Household Products Database also has information about the ingredients used in most major brands of deodorants and antiperspirants. This database is available at http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/index.htm on the Internet.
The belief that parabens build up in breast tissue was supported by a 2004 study, which found parabens in 18 of 20 samples of tissue from human breast tumors (5). However, this study did not prove that parabens cause breast tumors (4). The authors of this study did not analyze healthy breast tissue or tissues from other areas of the body and did not demonstrate that parabens are found only in cancerous breast tissue (5). Furthermore, this research did not identify the source of the parabens and cannot establish that the buildup of parabens is due to the use of deodorants or antiperspirants.More research is needed to specifically examine whether the use of deodorants or antiperspirants can cause the buildup of parabens and aluminum-based compounds in breast tissue. Additional research is also necessary to determine whether these chemicals can either alter the DNA in some cells or cause other breast cell changes that may lead to the development of breast cancer."

It sounds like the jury is still out on this among the scientific community. However, based on this study I have started looking for more all natural deoderants. Has anyone else heard about this? Have you switched deoderants?

7 comments:

Hi! Thanks for stop by my blog. Yes I have heard of this before, I switch my deoderant for some time now is a stone which when is combine with water kill the bacteria that cause the bad odor.It's totally natural you can find it in some Health foods stores. Mine it's call the Crystal stick. For more information you can go here, http://www.thecrystal.com/. Sorry it look like I am trying to sell you a mark, but is all what I know about this and is the one I use so I can tell you is good. I use the rock which I have to combined with water to work, but I think there others that are already combined, check it out. ;)

I have switched deoderant based on this theory. I use Tom's of Maine during the spring and summer and make my own (less potent/strong version) during the fall and winter!!Nice blog content. Looking forward to reading more!Thanks for visiting "Mrs. No-No Knows"! ...now following you back :) Hope you will stop back often and put in your two cents.Carla at Mrs. No-No Knowswww.twitter.com/mrsnonoknowswww.facebook.com/mrsnonoknows

Just looking through some blogs and came across yours...very interesting. I'm goign to look into more natural deoderants..I'm sure Whole Foods has something...Thanks for the info! look foward to future posts.